"Actually, your sister Ji Nianqin mentioned another profession. Besides the common "gossip girls," there was a specialized female profession during the Ming and Qing dynasties called the hairpin-wearing woman. Its emergence indicates that commerce had developed to a relatively prosperous level. Because upper-class ladies would spend a long time dressing up before going out, including meticulously adorning their headgear, this often took up a considerable amount of time. And the hairpin-wearing woman was a woman who specialized in helping others put on their hair ornaments."
"Uncle lawyer, why doesn't my sister want us to become hairpin-wearing women?"
A boy among the children asked, it seemed that he was very interested in the hairpins Ji Nianqin usually wore. He always wanted to try them on, but he never had the chance.
"In Ming Dynasty novels, it was described that a hairpin-wearing woman could only earn two or three coins of silver at a time. This shows that most of those who work in hairpin-wearing are women from the lower classes. So, I hope you will have more development."
"But the income is still quite good. And men can do it, just like makeup artists today. Sometimes, men can appreciate beauty from a different perspective."
"Do you still have this plan?"
"Yes, although all girls can disguise themselves as men to do many jobs, even Hua Mulan can do it, we also have two eyes and one nose, so it must be no different. In short, we must study hard."
"But don't you think your sister wasn't very happy when she left, as if she had a quarrel with someone? Maybe none of us mentioned the profession of hairpin maker first, so she was a little sad."
"No, I think it's the Crown Prince. He always feels bad for me, and all I want him to do is keep an eye on the job and go straight for it if he likes something. But the Crown Prince keeps coming back and leaving, coming back again, and leaving again. So I think I hate him for giving up halfway."
"So, we can't make Sister sad. We don't have to be involved in the hairpin business. We have to truly enjoy what we do in order to get good rewards. It's not like the fortune-telling ladies who use superstitious tricks to tell people what they lack in their destiny."
"That's a witch. They make a living by using tricks like pretending to be ghosts, drawing talismans and chanting spells. My sister once told me she'd encountered one, so her life has been quite rough. That's why she always tells us to study hard and do what we love in the future. For example, I could consider two surnames and arrange marriages. I could become an excellent matchmaker, arranging marriages for people. In ancient times, like a midwife, it was a profession exclusively for women, not for men."
"In ancient times, ordinary women didn't stay home to practice music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. These kinds of things were reserved for women of the nobility. Besides the above, noble women also learned embroidery, while ordinary women could only embroider. The materials for embroidery were very expensive, and they also had to learn etiquette. So, I also want to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting in modern times, and show off some cross-stitch. I also want to learn piano. I think playing the piano makes me look so elegant."
"I want to be a cook, so I can make lots of delicious food for my family and guests. It would be wonderful to see their faces become more beautiful because of me."
"Since you've all made up your mind, then work hard for your dreams. The prerequisite is that you have to do your own homework."
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